Two quickie updates

My friend Jon and I have started taking mid-week bicycle rides at lunchtime. It serves three important functions for two guys who work at home: it gets us out of the house, it provides some exercise, and, of course, it gets us to food trucks.

Jon, despite having a couple of years on me, is much more fit than I am and absolutely busts my butt on these rides. By the time I pull in to the truck, I’m sweaty and hungry and thirsty and wondering if I could fit my bike into a cab. He, of course, looks like he took a cab.

Last week we rode up to the Cisco campus to raid Tikka Bytes. Jon (note that he is not sweating) got the bowl with chicken and tikka massala, while I tried the “Chole Tostada.”

The chicken bowl looked great, and Jon said it was delicious. It had nice, big chunks of chicken in their least spicy but incredibly aromatic sauce, with rice on the bottom of the bowl. He finished it off, and I thought I might have seen him turn his back for a moment to lick the bowl. Probably not, but it looked really clean.

The Cholle Tostada was served in the same bowl, and it was just a crispy corn tortilla with a thick layer of Cholle (garbanzo beans simmered in massala sauce) on top of it, garnished with some crispy bits, some red onion, and a couple of nice sauces on top. I like cholle any way it’s served, and I enjoyed this very much.

As always, Tikka Bytes came through for us!

The other day I had to drive up to Portola Valley and thought I’d check to see if anyone was on the path. Sam’s Chowder Mobile was, so I dropped in for lunch.

I decided to try the Calamari. For $8, I got a very generous portion of little, deep-fried squid bits, served with delicious tartar sauce and cocktail sauce. The squid was cooked perfectly – the outside was crispy, the squid itself moist and tender. I like squid, and I’m not sure I have ever had it cooked better. I drove away with the container in the passenger seat, reaching over for bits of perfect squid, dipping them at random, and popping them into my mouth. They lasted until I got to Palo Alto on I-280 – it was a good-size portion!

My only minor quibble is that it was pretty salty for my taste. It brought out the flavor of the squid nicely, but I would have liked a little more squid flavor and a little less salt.

I was at Tikka Bytes that day, but I didn’t stay long. That Chole Tostada looks awesome! Perfect for a chilly autumn lunch al fresco. Good for you guys, riding your bikes. Moveable Feast and Word on the StreEats are only 3.1 miles apart Saturday. Just sayin’.